VII. Then Publius called the people together 24 in their CHAP. centuries, and they chose Spurius Lucretius, the father of Lucretia, to be their magistrate for the year, in the room of Brutus. But he was an old man, and his strength was so much gone, that after a few days he died. They then chose in his room Marcus Horatius 25. dedicating of on the Marcus Ho Now Publius and Marcus cast lots which should of the dedicate the temple to Jupiter on the hill of the the temple Capitol, which king Tarquinius had built; and the Capitol by lot fell to Marcus, to the great discontent of the ratius. friends of Publius 26. So when Marcus was going to begin the dedication, and had his hand on the doorpost of the temple, and was speaking the set words of prayer, there came a man running to tell him that his son was dead. But he said, "Then let them carry him out and bury him;" and he neither wept, nor lamented, for the words of lamentation ought not to be spoken when men are praying to the blessed gods, and dedicating a temple to their honour. So Marcus honoured the gods above his son, and dedicated the temple on the hill of the Capitol; and his name was recorded on the front of the temple. Porsenna But when king Tarquinius found that the Veien- How king tians and Tarquinians were not able to restore him made war to his kingdom, he went to Clusium 27, a city in the Romans, to farthest part of Etruria, beyond the Ciminian forest, take back 24 Livy, II. 8. 25 The treaty with Carthage makes M. Horatius the colleague of Brutus another proof of the irreconcileableness of the common story with the real but lost his- 26 Livy, II. 8. upon the make them king Tarquinius. VII. Of the worthy deed Cocles. CHAP. and besought Lars Porsenna 28, the king of Clusium, to aid him. So Porsenna raised a great army, and marched against Rome, and attacked the Romans on the hill Janiculum, the hill on the outside of the city beyond the Tiber; and he drove them down from the hill into the city. There was a wooden bridge over the Tiber at the bottom of the hill, and the Etruscans followed close upon the Romans to win the bridge, but a single man, named Horatius Cocles, stood fast upon the bridge, and faced the Etruscans 29; of Horatius two others then resolved to stay with him, Spurius Lartius and Titus Herminius; and these three men stopped the Etruscans, while the Romans, who had fled over the river, were busy in cutting away the bridge. When it was nearly all cut away, Horatius made his two companions leave him, and pass over the bridge into the city. Then he stood alone on the bridge, and defied all the army of the Etruscans; and they showered their javelins upon him, and he caught them on his shield, and stood yet unhurt. But just as they were rushing on him, to drive him. from his post by main force, the last beams of the bridge were cut away, and it all fell with a mighty crash into the river; and while the Etruscans wondered, and stopped in their course, Horatius turned and prayed to the god of the river, "O father 30 Tiber, I pray thee to receive these arms, and me 28 Lars," like "lucumo," is not an individual name, but expresses the rank of the person, like avaέ. Micali connects it with the Teutonic word "Lord." 29 Livy. II. 10. 30 Tiberine pater, te sancte precor, hæc arma et hunc militem propitio flumine accipias." Livy, II. 10. 31 VII. who bear them, and to let thy waters befriend and CHAP. save me." Then he leapt into the river; and though the darts fell thick around him, yet they did not hit him, and he swam across to the city safe and sound 31. For this the Romans set up his statue in the comitium, and gave him as much land as he could drive the plough round in the space of a whole day. Mucius life of king and how he own hand in So he the fire. But the Etruscans still lay before the city, and How Caius the Romans suffered much from hunger. Then a sought the young man of noble blood, Caius Mucius 32 by name, Porsenna; went to the senate, and offered to go to the camp of burned his the Etruscans, and to slay king Porsenna. crossed the river and made his way into the camp, and there he saw a man sitting on a high place, and wearing a scarlet robe, and many coming and going about him; and, saying to himself, "This must be king Porsenna," he went up to his seat amidst the crowd, and when he came near to the man he drew a dagger from under his garment, and stabbed him. But it was the king's scribe whom he had slain, who was the king's chief officer; so he was seized and brought before the king, and the guards threatened $3 him with sharp torments, unless he would answer VII. CHAP. all their questions. But he said, "See now, how little I care for your torments;" and he thrust his right hand into the fire that was burning there on the altar, and he did not move it till it was quite consumed. Then king Porsenna marvelled at his courage, and said, "Go thy way, for thou hast harmed thyself more than me; and thou art a brave man, and I send thee back to Rome unhurt and free." But Caius answered, "For this thou shalt get more of my secret than thy tortures could have forced from Three hundred noble youths of Rome have bound themselves by oath to take thy life. Mine was the first adventure; but the others will each in his turn lie in wait for thee. I warn thee therefore to look to thyself well." Then Caius was let go, and went back again into the city. Of the peace made be Porsenna and the Romans; and of the great spirit of the maiden Clœlia. me. But king Porsenna was greatly moved 34, and tween king made the Romans offers of peace, to which they listened gladly, and gave up the land beyond the Tiber which had been won in former times from the Veientians; and he gave back to them the hill Janiculum. Besides this the Romans gave hostages to the king, ten youths and ten maidens, children of noble fathers, as a pledge that they would truly keep the peace which they had made. But it chanced as the camp of the Etruscans was near the Tiber, that Cloelia, one of the maidens, escaped with her fellows and fled to the brink of the river, and as the Etruscans pursued them, Cloelia spoke to the other 34 Livy, II. 13. VII. maidens, and persuaded them, and they rushed all CHAP. into the water, and swam across the river, and got safely over. At this king Porsenna marvelled more than ever, and when the Romans sent back Cloelia and her fellows to him, for they kept their faith truly, he bade her go home free, and he gave her some of the youths also who were hostages, to choose whom she would; and she chose those who were of tenderest age, and king Porsenna set them free. Then the Romans gave lands to Caius, and set up a statue of Cloelia in the highest part of the Sacred Way; and king Porsenna led away his army home in peace. Tarquinius aid from the After this king Porsenna 35 made war against the How Latins, and his army was beaten, and fled to Rome; sought for and the Romans received them kindly, and took care Latins. of those who were wounded, and sent them back safe to king Porsenna. For this the king gave back to the Romans all the rest of their hostages whom he had still with him, and also the land which they had won from the Veientians. So Tarquinius, seeing that there was no more hope of aid from king Porsenna, left Clusium and went to Tusculum of the Latins; for Mamilius Octavius, the chief of the Tusculans, had married his daughter, and he hoped that the Latins would restore him to Rome, for their cities were many, and when he had been king he had favoured them rather than the Romans. So after a time thirty cities of the Latins joined of the war 35 Livy, II. 14, 15. between the |